Tag Archives: bugbane

Noticing our honey bees foraging in the garden not far from their hives.

Fall asters always attract pollinators and our bees love them. Aster comes from the Greek word for star, and they really are stars in the fall garden. Reliable long lasting blooms and food for bees in the late season garden.

Bugbane which used to be called cimicifuga but has been renamed Actaea, is one of my favourite fall blooms. I have moved it around my garden quite a bit until it finally came to rest right in front of my kitchen window where it receives afternoon sun only. It seems very happy there. In full sun the blooms would appear earlier and then literally fry in the sun, so I moved them to this shadier part of the garden. Now I can enjoy seeing the beautiful blooms and watch my honey bees forage as I do the dishes. It is very fragrant and as the long fronds sway in the September breeze you can smell them from quite a distance.

There are many varieties of sedum, or stonecrop, but this variety of fall sedum which flowers in my garden in late August through September, and sometimes until the snow flies, is my favourite. All of the pollinators love it, and on a warm fall day they are jostling for position on the tiny star shaped flowers. I grow these in many areas of my garden, especially for my bees.